Marshall Islands: International tourism, expenditures (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Marshall Islands' international tourism, expenditures (current US$) rose 13.8% on 2017 (from US$27.6 million to US$31.4 million).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2017), the average change was +359.4% and a typical year strayed about 1,476.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 6,275% in 2005 and the biggest yearly fall was 10.4% in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$715,879 a year. A straight line explains 69% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2018, Marshall Islands had the 14th highest value of the 15 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Marshall Islands in the 2018 ranking

• Mali — 10th of 15: US$255 million
• Papua New Guinea — 11th of 15: US$134 million
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 12th of 15: US$115 million
• Sudan — 14th of 15: US$13 million
• Naoero — 15th of 15: US$7.1 million

What this measures

International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling. Expenditure associated with the activity of international visitors has been traditionally identified with the travel item of the Balance of Payments (BOP).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 20 values

International tourism, expenditures (current US$) in nearby economies

• Australia — US$7.65 billion (2020)
• Brunei Darussalam — US$585 million (2018)
• Cambodia — US$213 million (2020)
• Fiji — US$77 million (2020)
• French Polynesia — US$226 million (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$26.5 billion (2018)
• Indonesia — US$1.98 billion (2020)
• Japan — US$6.74 billion (2020)
• Korea, Rep. — US$16.71 billion (2020)
• Lao PDR

More private sector & trade data for Marshall Islands

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 59.42% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$111 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$72 million (2025)
• Import unit value index (2015 = 100) — 121.2 (2025)
• Export unit value index (2015 = 100) — 119.3 (2025)
• International tourism, number of arrivals — 6,100 (2019)
• International tourism, receipts (current US$) — US$20.1 million (2018)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 76.45% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Marshall Islands's international tourism, expenditures (current US$)?

US$31.4 million in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1999?

It is up 31,300% from US$100,000 in 1999 (35.34% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$31.4 million in 2018 and the lowest US$100,000 in 1999.

How does Marshall Islands rank?

14th highest of 15 economies with data for 2018.

Is the latest change in international tourism, expenditures (current US$) unusual for Marshall Islands?

In 2018, Marshall Islands' international tourism, expenditures (current US$) rose 13.8% on 2017 (from US$27.6 million to US$31.4 million). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2017), the average change was +359.4% and a typical year strayed about 1,476.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.XPND.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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